DARTMOUTH — University of Massachusetts Dartmouth President Jack M. Wilson said during Sunday’s undergraduate commencement ceremony that each one of the 1,506 graduates has a personal story to tell.

Before the ceremony, area graduates proved him right. They expressed guarded optimism about the future, but their stories proved they have already set out on successful paths.

Daniel Pimentel of Dartmouth, a sociology student, was all smiles when he mentioned that his 16-month old son would be donning a three-piece suit to watch his father cross the stage for his diploma.

Pimentel began taking college courses from the university in 2000 before he enlisted in the military. Pimentel said he returned to UMass Dartmouth in 2006 and finished his undergraduate studies in three years.

Pimentel said he made himself right at home at the university. He joined a fraternity and has a job tending bar at a local restaurant.

The graduate will be leaving Massachusetts and his college ties to return to his home state of Virginia with his family. Though his departure from the college will be bittersweet, he was all smiles on Sunday.

“I’m excited. My family is here,” he said while waiting under a drizzly sky outside the Tripp Athletic Center.

Liam Quinn, a crime and justice studies graduate, said his sought-after career could be a year away. The New Bedford resident said he wants to join the FBI, but he has to be 23 to join.

Quinn, 22, said he sill plans on working in his field until he can reach his ultimate goal.

Quinn will also be moving to Virginia, where he hopes to work as a probation officer.

His friend, Agnieska Ciarka, also of New Bedford, shared the same major but plans to pursue a different path. She said she plans attending law school eventually.

“I’m just ecstatic to be here and be able to find a job and move up,” she said.

Chemistry graduate David Hall, also of New Bedford, said he hopes to relocate to Cape Cod to seek a career in contamination control.

Hall said he has no definitie plans for the immediate future but could see himself working for a

pharmaceutical company.

Biology major Kathryn Berryman, of Fall River, said she was nervous yet excited about graduating. She said she will be happy to “find a job anywhere” but in the meantime she plans to apply for graduate school.